German submarine sinks Lusitania - May 07, 1915 - HISTORY.com German submarine sinks Lusitania Publisher A+E Networks The earlier German attacks on merchant ships off the south coast of Ireland prompted the British Admiralty to warn the Lusitania to avoid the area or take simple evasive action, such as zigzagging to confuse U-boats plotting the vessel’s course. The captain of the Lusitania ignored these recommendations, and at 2:12 p.m. on May 7, in the waters of the Celtic Sea, the 32,000-ton ship was hit by an exploding torpedo on its starboard side. The torpedo blast was followed by a larger explosion, probably of the ship’s boilers. The Lusitania sank within 20 minutes. Germany justified the attack by stating, correctly, that the Lusitania was an enemy ship, and that it was carrying munitions. It was primarily a passenger ship, however, and among the 1,201 drowned in the attack were many women and children, including 128 Americans. Colonel Edward House, close associate of U.S.

President Woodrow Wilson, was in London for a diplomatic visit when he learned of the Lusitania‘s demise. America has come to the parting of the ways, he wrote in a telegram to Wilson, when she must determine whether she stands for civilized or uncivilized warfare. We can no longer remain neutral spectators. Wilson subsequently sent a strongly worded note to the German government—the first of three similar communications—demanding that it cease submarine warfare against unarmed merchant ships. Wilson’s actions On the afternoon of May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland. Faced with the overpowering size and strength of the British Royal Navy at the outset of World War I, Germany realized its most effective weapon at sea was its deadly accurate U-boat submarine. Consequently, in February 1915, the German navy adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, declaring the area around the British Isles a war zone, in which all merchant ships, including those from neutral countries, would be subject to attack.

Though the United States was officially neutral at this point in the war, Britain was one of the nation’s closest trading partners, and tensions arose immediately over Germany’s new policy. In early May 1915, several New York newspapers published a warning by the German embassy in Washington that Americans traveling on British or Allied ships in war zones did so at their own risk. On the same page, an advertisement announced the imminent sailing of the British cruise liner Lusitania from New York back to Liverpool. prompted his secretary of state, the pacifist William Jennings Bryan, to resign. His successor, Robert Lansing, took quite a different view of the situation: the sinking of the Lusitania had convinced him that the United States could not maintain its neutrality forever, and would eventually be forced to enter the war against Germany. On the German side, fear of further antagonizing Wilson and his government led Kaiser Wilhelm and Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg to issue an apology to the U.S. and enforce a curb on the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.

By early 1917, however, under pressure from military leaders who advocated an aggressive naval policy as an integral component of German strategy in World War I, the government reversed its policy, and on February 1, 1917, Germany resumed its policy of unrestricted U-boat warfare. Two days later, Wilson announced that the U.S. was breaking diplomatic relations with Germany; the same day, the American liner Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat. The United States formally entered World War I on April 6, 1917. Related Videos Germans unleash U-boats - Jan 31, 1917 - HISTORY.com Publisher A+E Networks On this day in 1917, Germany announces the renewal of unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic as German torpedo-armed submarines prepare to attack any and all ships, including civilian passenger carriers, said to be sighted in war-zone waters. When World War I erupted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson pledged neutrality for the United States, a position that the vast majority of Americans favored.

Britain, however, was one of America’s closest trading partners and tension soon arose between the United States and Germany over the latter’s attempted blockade of the British isles. Several U.S. ships traveling to Britain were damaged or sunk by German mines and, in February 1915, Germany announced unrestricted warfare against all ships, neutral or otherwise, that entered the war zone around Britain. One month later, Germany announced that a German cruiser had sunk the William P. Frye, a private American merchant vessel that was transporting grain to England when it disappeared. President Wilson was outraged, but the German government apologized, calling the attack an unfortunate mistake. The Germans’ most formidable naval weapon was the U-boat, a submarine far more sophisticated than those built by other nations at the time. The typical U-boat was 214 feet long, carried 35 men and 12 torpedoes, and could travel underwater for two hours at a time. In the first few years of World War I, the U-boats took a terrible toll on Allied shipping.

In early May 1915, several New York newspapers published a warning by the German embassy in Washington that Americans traveling on British or Allied ships in war zones did so at their own risk. The announcement was placed on the same page as an advertisement for the imminent sailing of the British-owned Lusitania ocean liner from New York to Liverpool. On May 7, the Lusitania was torpedoed without warning just off the coast of Ireland. Of the 1,959 passengers, 1,198 were killed, including 128 Americans. The German government maintained that the Lusitania was carrying munitions, but the U.S. demanded reparations and an end to German attacks on unarmed passenger and merchant ships. In August 1915, Germany pledged to see to the safety of passengers before sinking unarmed vessels, but in November sank an Italian liner without warning, killing 272 people, including 27 Americans. Public opinion in the United States began to turn irrevocably against Germany. At the end of January 1917, Germany, determined to win its war of attrition against the Allies, announced the resumption of unrestricted warfare.

Three days later, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany; just hours after that, the American liner Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat. None of the 25 Americans on board were killed and they were picked up later by a British steamer. On February 22, Congress passed a $250 million arms-appropriations bill intended to ready the United States for war. Two days later, British authorities gave the U.S. ambassador to Britain a copy of what has become known as the “Zimmermann Note,” a coded message from German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann to Count Johann von Bernstorff, the German ambassador to Mexico. In the telegram, intercepted and deciphered by British intelligence, Zimmermann stated that, in the event of war with the United States, Mexico should be asked to enter the conflict as a German ally. In return, Germany would promise to restore to Mexico the lost territories of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. On March 1, the U.S. State Department published the note and America was galvanized against Germany once and for all. In late March, Germany sank four more U.S.

merchant ships and, on April 2, President Wilson appeared before Congress and called for a declaration of war against Germany. On April 4, the Senate voted 82 to six to declare war against Germany. Two days later, the House of Representatives endorsed the declaration by a vote of 373 to 50 and America formally entered World War I. Related Videos From the Monitor Archives: RMS Lusitania sunk by German U-boat - CSMonitor.com From the Monitor Archives: RMS Lusitania sunk by German U-boat Latest News More than 1,100 people – including 120 Americans – died when the British oceanliner Lusitania was torpedoed off the coast of Ireland, 100 years ago today. The incident was a key event in eventually drawing the US into WWI. By The Christian Science Monitor May 7, 2015 Save for later Saved On May 1, 1915, the British cargo and passenger ship Lusitania sets out for England on its last voyage from New York City.

The British ocean liner was sunk off Ireland on May 7, 1915 by a German U-Boat, killing 1,150 people, 114 of them Americans. AP/File View Caption of These articles originally ran in The Christian Science Monitor on May 7 and 8, 1915. At that point, the United States was a neutral party in World War I. But it maintained close ties with Britain, one of its largest trading partners, to the frustration of Germany. In early 1915, Germany announced that it would conduct unrestricted submarine warfare around Britain, making any British-flagged vessel a potential target. (And even before that announcement, American vessels were at risk: in January 1915, a German U-boat stopped and sank the William P. Frye, a US merchant vessel, off the Brazilian coast.) The RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner, was a frequent traveler between New York City and Liverpool, England, and thus at obvious risk from German submarines – so much so that Germany published advertisements in US newspapers ahead of the ship's May 1 departure from New York, warning that Americans should not travel aboard the vessel.

Undaunted, the Lusitania set out for Liverpool, England, on May 1, with more than 1,900 people on board. But despite the warnings of German subs prowler, the Lusitania took few of the advised precautions, like zigzagging to make it difficult for U-boats to plot its course, or avoiding known U-boat hunting grounds. Recommended: How do the events of World War I still affect us today? Take our quiz. On May 7, off the southern coast of Ireland, the Lusitania sailed into the path of a German submarine, which fired one torpedo at the liner, causing a secondary explosion. The Lusitania sank in under 20 minutes, and of the 1,900-plus on board, only some 760 people survived. Around 120 Americans were killed in the sinking, which many in the US saw as a war crime. Germany argued that the Lusitania was carrying arms and thus was a fair target under the rules of war. (The Lusitania was indeed carrying several million rounds of rifle shells.) Nonetheless, Germany officially apologized to the US and promised to end unrestricted submarine warfare.

Even so, the Lusitania's sinking was a key stepping stone for the American transition from neutral party to participant in World War I. In February 1917, when Germany reversed its policy and began unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic again, the US officially broke ties with Germany. Two months later, it formally entered the war. – Arthur Bright / Staff writer May 7, 1915 WIRE LUSITANIA IS SUNK OFF THE IRISH COAST Boston Office of the Cunard Line Says the Steamship Was Tor­pedoed on Approach to Queenstown BOATS SENT TO AID Twenty Small Craft From the Great Vessel Stand By and Other Assistance Said to Be at Hand At the Boston office of the Cunard line it was stated this afternoon that the steamship Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk off the Irish coast today, accord­ing to cable received from the Liverpool office. No loss of life is reported. Immediately the liner was struck 20 boats were lowered and filled with passengers. According to the report, boats put out at once from Queenstown in the di­rection of Old Head of Kinsale, off which the attack is said to have taken place.

At this point the vessel would normally have been within sight of land. An unconfirmed report had it that the Lusitania was turned toward the shore and beached. A cable timed 4:23 p. m. says that several boats, apparently containing sur­vivors have been sighted to the south­east, and that a Greek steamer is proceeding to assistance. Information given out at the Heston office of the Cunard line was to effect that the Lusitania which left New York last Saturday had 290 saloon [first class] passengers, 602 second cabin and 361 steerage, all of whom were booked by the Cunard line, besides other passengers who were transferred from the Anchor liner Cameronia which was cancelled just before its sail­ing time. The wireless message sent out from the Lusitania, as reported here by cable, read as follows: “Come at once. Big list. Ten miles south of Kinsale.” Among others [known to be on board the ship] are Alfred Gwynne Van­derbilt, Elbert Hubbard and Charles Frohman.

Just before the steamer sailed many of the passengers received tele­grams advising them not to make the voyage as something was going to hap­pen to the big liner. These telegrams followed on the pub­lication in the newspapers of an advertisement authorized by the German embassy, warning all Americans that travel to and from England was dan­gerous. The Lusitania is commanded by Capt. W. T. Turner, royal naval reserve, and Staff Capt. J. C. Anderson is his assis­tant. On board were a number of British reservists going to join the colors and representatives of many American and Canadian firms who deal in war materials. Page 1 of the May 7, 1915, edition of the Monitor. The story about the sinking of the Lusitania appears on the far right.

The Christian Science Monitor, ProQuest May 8, 1915 DETAILS AS TO LUSITANIA LOSS NOW AVAILABLE Queenstown Reports Arrival of Nearly All Boats and Trawlers HERON STILL TO COME Kinsale Fishing Boats Be­lieved May Have Few Passengers Special Cable to The Christian Science Monitor from its European Bureau LONDON, May 7 – The Cunard Steam­ship Company confirm the [ ] that the steamer Lusitania was torpe­doed and sunk off the head of Kinsale. An earlier report said the Lusitania was sunk today off the Old Head of Kinsale. Saturday—The admiral at Queens­town reports through the press bureau that the torpedo boats and armed traw­lers from Queenstown are all in except the Heron. From these 595 survivors landed. From the steam trawlers 52 survivors landed. Landed at Kinsale there are 11 survi­vors, total number of survivors 638, Num­bers are to be verified later. Kinsale fishing boats may possibly have a few more passengers. Only a few first-class passengers were saved.

It is understood they thought the ship would float but she sank in from 15 to 25 minutes and is reported to have been struck by two torpedoes. Cunard agent gives the total number on board as 2180. In addition to above, it has just been signaled that one armed trawler and two fishing trawlers have arrived. On inquiry in official quarters The Christian Science Monitor learns that very strong views are held in regard to the sinking of the Lusitania. It is pointed out that Germany’s action represents the crowning example of a set determination entirely to disregard the most elementary rights of non-combatants and neutrals. The action of the German embassy in Washington in issuing a warning to American passengers that they traveled at their own risk showed clearly that the sinking of the Lusitania was de­liberately planned and premeditated and therefore comes under the simple cate­gory of a deliberate crime. It is further pointed out, once again, that Germany can claim no rights under her supposed blockade. The blockade, so far, has had no effect on shipping, 1500 ships a week still going and coming to and from British ports.

Germany's right to stop the Lusitania to make prisoners of all belligerent pas­sengers and capture the ship is admitted, but to sink the ship without warning with all of the passengers is regarded as an act of lawless barbarism which it is useless to discuss. Great Britain, it is pointed out, has never desired or asked for active inter­vention on the part of the United States. It is difficult, however, it is pointed out, not to refer at this juncture to Mr. Churchill's warning in the early stages of the war that if Germany beat England it would be America's turn next. Great Britain today, it is urged, neither desires nor asks for interven­tion by the United States but in justi­fication of her struggles points to the sinking of the Lusitania and says in effect to the United States, “this is what we are fighting." REPORT IS ASKED OF GERMANY ON THE LUSITANIA Special to The Christian Science Monitor from its Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — "We are informing ourselves as rapidly as possible of the facts anti doing all we can for the in­jured,” said Secretary [of State William Jennings] Bryan this morning.

This is all that officials at the state department or White House would say for publication, but it is not unlikely that some statement may be issued conseling [sic] the American people to remain calm, as was done in the Frye case. Berlin has been asked by this government, through Ambassador Gerard, for Germany’s report of the sinking of the Lusitania and the consul at Queenstown and Ambassador Page at London have been instructed to get all the information they can. It has not been determined officially whether the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine. To get away and collect his thoughts President [Woodrow] Wilson went for a motor drive this morning and may play some golf. Secretaries Bryan and Redfield [William C. Redfield, Secretary of Commerce] gave up plans for a trip down the Potomac today and Secretary [of War Lindley Miller] Garrison canceled a trip to Alabama. It is certain that the administration will proceed with extreme deliberation and prove their ground before they pro­ceed on any line of action. Next up Get the Monitor stories you care about delivered to your inbox.

Daily 1000+ images about Lusitania Sunk By German U Boat on Pinterest | Warfare, Boats and Steamers Forward The ship Lusitania, departed from New York May 1, 1915 and sunk by the Germans on May 7, 1915 while the Lusitania was on it's way to Liverpool. 1,198 of the people aboard the Lusitania died out of the 1,925 people on the ship. 128 of them were US citizens. Germany sunk the Lusitania wanting to cut off all war supplies to Great Britain. This was one of the factors leading the U.S. into ww1. See More Shipwrecks Since 1833 World and News > Disaster Digest > Accident Archive > Shipwrecks Shipwrecks Since 1833 The Titanic isn't the only notable shipwreck (though it is famous for crashing into an iceberg on April 15, 1912, killing over 1,500 people).

The Lusitania, a British luxury liner, was sunk by a German submarine on May 7, 1915, killing 1,195 people. Joola, a Senegalese ferry, sunk in 2002, drowning 1,863 people. 1833 May 11, Lady of the Lake: bound from England to Quebec, struck iceberg; 215 perished. 1853 Sept. 29, Annie Jane: emigrant vessel wrecked off coast of Scotland; 348 died. 1860 Sept. 8, Lady Elgin: steamer was hit by schooner Augusta , killing more than 300. 1865 April 27, Sultana : boiler explosion on Mississippi River steamboat, near Memphis; 1,547 killed. Most of the dead were Union POWs finally heading home at the end of the Civil War. 1873 April 1, Atlantic: sank near Halifax after hitting rocks, killing 562. 1878 Sept.

3, Princess Alice: collided with the steam collier Bywell Castle and sank in the Thames, killing at least 600, actual numbers unknown. 1898 Feb. 15, Maine: U.S. battleship destroyed in Havana harbor by an explosion that killed 260 men. The incident led to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in April 1898. Nov. 26, City of Portland: 157 died near Cape Cod. 1904 June 15, General Slocum: excursion steamer burned in East River, N.Y.; 1,021 perished. 1912 March 5, Principe de Asturias: Spanish steamer struck rock off Sebastien Point; 500 drowned. April 15, Titanic : supposedly unsinkable British ocean liner went down on maiden voyage after colliding with an iceberg. More than 1,500 people died. Sept. 28, Kichemaru: Japanese steamer sunk off Japan; killing 1000. 1914 May 29, Empress of Ireland: sank after collision in St.

Lawrence River; 1,014 perished. 1915 May 7, Lusitania : British luxury liner was sunk off Irish coast by a German submarine; 1195 died. 1915 July 24, Eastland: Great Lakes excursion steamer overturned in Chicago River; 812 died. 1916 Feb. 26, Provence: French cruiser sank in Mediterranean; 3,100 perished. Nov. 21, Britannic: sister ship of the Titanic sank in the Aegean Sea after an explosion. The vessel, which had been converted to a hospital ship during World War I, probably collided with an underwater mine. Of the more than 1,100 people aboard, only 30 died. Aug. 29, Hsin Yu: Chinese steamer sunk; 1,000 died. 1928 Nov. 12, Vestris: British steamer sank in gale off Va.; 110 died. 1934 Sept. 8, Morro Castle: 134 killed in fire off Asbury Park, N.J.

1939 May 23, Squalus: submarine with 59 men sank off Hampton Beach, N.H.; 33 saved. June 1, Thetis: submarine sank in Liverpool Bay, England; 99 perished. 1945 Jan. 30, Wilhelm Gustloff: cruise ship carrying German refugees and soldiers sunk by Soviet submarine in Baltic. It is thought that as many as 10,000 people were aboard, of which only about 900 survived. 1949 Sept. 17, Noronic: Canadian Great Lakes cruise ship burned at Toronto dock; about 130 died. 1952 April 26, Hobson: minesweeper collided with aircraft carrier Wasp and sank during night maneuvers in mid-Atlantic; 176 people lost. 1953 Jan. 9, Chang Tyong-Ho: South Korean ferry foundered off Pusan; 249 reported dead. Jan. 31, Princess Victoria: British ferry sank in Irish Sea; 133 lost. 1954 Sept.

26, Toya Maru: more than 1,000 killed when commercial ferry sank in Tsugaru Strait, Japan. 1956 July 25, Andrea Doria : Italian liner collided with Swedish liner Stockholm off Nantucket Island, Mass., and sank the next day. 51 people died. 1962 April 8, Dara: British liner exploded and sank in Persian Gulf; 236 dead. Caused by time bomb. 1963 April 10, Thresher: atomic-powered U.S. submarine sank in North Atlantic; 129 dead. May 4: United Arab Republic ferry capsized and sank in upper Nile; over 200 died. 1966 Dec. 12, Heraklion: Greek passenger ferry foundered in heavy seas near Crete; 241 dead. 1968 Jan. 25, Dakar: Israeli submarine sank in eastern Mediterranean, probably after collision with large ship; 69 dead. Late May, Scorpion: U.S. nuclear submarine sank in Atlantic 400 mi southwest of Azores; 99 dead. 1970 Dec.

15: ferry in Korean Strait capsized; 261 lost. 1975 Nov. 10, Edmund Fitzgerald: cargo vessel carrying 26,000 long tons of iron ore pellets sank in eastern Lake Superior; all 29 crew lost. 1976 Oct. 20, George Prince: Mississippi River ferry rammed by Norwegian tanker Frosta near Luling, La.; 77 dead. 1983 May 25, 10th of Ramadan: Nile steamer caught fire and sank in Lake Nasser, near Aswan, Egypt; 272 dead and 75 missing. 1987 March 6, Herald of Free Enterprise: British ferry capsized after leaving Belgian port of Zeebrugge with 500 aboard; 134 drowned. Water rushing through bow left open was the cause. Dec. 20, Dona Paz: over 4,000 killed when passenger ferry collided with oil tanker Victor off Mindoro Is., south of Manila, Philippines.

1990 April 7, Scandinavian Star: suspected arson aboard Danish-owned North Sea ferry killed at least 110 passengers in Skagerrak Strait off Norway. April 7: double-decker ferry sank in Gyaing River in Myanmar (Burma) during a storm and 215 people were believed drowned. 1991 Dec. 15, Salem Express: ferry carrying 569 passengers sank in Red Sea off coast of Safaga, Egypt, after hitting a coral reef. Over 460 people believed drowned. 1993 Feb. 17, Neptune: triple-deck ferry capsized off southern peninsula of Haiti during a squall. Over 1,000 passengers believed drowned. About 300 survived the sinking. 1994 Sept. 28, Estonia: passenger ferry capsized off coast of southwest Finland and sank in a stormy Baltic Sea. Only about 140 of the estimated 1,040 passengers aboard survived. 1996 Jan. 21, Gurita: overloaded ferry sank off the coast of northern Sumatra, killing 340.

1999 Feb., Harta Rimba: ship sank in the South China Sea, killing about 325 people. The ship had not been licensed for passenger use. Nov. 24, Dashun: ferry carrying more than 300 passengers sank after catching fire. More than 150 confirmed dead, with another 140 missing. 2000 June 29, Cahaya Bahari: ferry carrying refugees sank about 40 mi off Sulawesi , killing the 492 people aboard. Aug. 12, Kursk: Russian nuclear submarine sank to bottom of Barents Sea following an explosion; 118 dead. 2001 Feb. 9, Ehime Maru: U.S. submarine Greeneville collided with Japanese fishing boat near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 26 people aboard the Ehime Maru were rescued; 9 others were presumed dead. 2002 Sept. 26, Joola: overloaded Senegalese ferry capsized off the coast of Gambia, drowning 1,863 people. Only 64 passengers were rescued. 2006 Feb.

3, Red Sea: a fire on the al-Salam Boccaccio 98, a Red Sea ferry, enroute from Saudi Arabia to Egypt, caused it to sink 60 miles off the Egyptian coast, killing more than 1,000. 2007 Jan. 28, California: computer scientist, Jim Gray, disappears off the coast of San Fransisco during a solo day trip on his 40-foot yacht, the Tenacious. Aug. 3, Sierra Leone: the Amunafa ferry, traveling from Freetown to Kasire, sank off the coast of Sierra Leone, killing 158 passengers. 2008 Jan. 15, Taiwan: a Panamanian cargo ship transporting coal from Hong Kong was capsized by a wave near Taiwan, killing all eight crew members. June 21, the Philippines: a ferry, the Princess of the Stars, is struck by Typhoon Fengshen, killing most of the 800 passengers and crew. Nov.

9, the Sea of Japan: in the most deadly accident on a Russian submarine since 2000, 20 people die and 21 more are injured when two compartments of a new Russian nuclear submarine flood with Freon gas during tests in the Sea of Japan. Dec. 5, Antarctic penninsula: more than 80 passengers and 30 crew members were evacuated from a luxury Antarctic cruise ship when the ship hit a rock and became stuck on the Antarctic Peninsula, over 150 miles southwest of Argentina. 2009 Jan. 11, Indonesia: a passenger ferry MV Teratai Prima carrying 267 capsizes during a cyclone off the coast of Sulawesi. About 40 people, including the captain, are rescued. March 27, Libya: a boat designed to hold 75 sinks with more than 250 migrants headed to Europe on board. Twenty survivors are rescued. Aug. 6, Tonga: a passenger ferry MV Princess Ashika sinks, killing 74. Four men are charged with manslaughter for knowingly sailing an unseaworthy vessel. Sept.

9, Sierra Leone: the ferry Teh Teh sinks during a storm with more than 250 on board, many of them schoolchildren and their parents on their way to Freetown to start the new school year. Forty people are rescued. 2010 May 8, New York: the Staten Island ferry Andrew J. Barberi crashes into the terminal after losing brake power. Thirty six people are injured. July 7, Philadelphia: an amphibious tourist boat, or duck boat, stalls in the Delaware River and is struck by a sludge-carrying barge. All 37 people on board are thrown into the water; 35 are recovered alive, while 2 Hungarian tourists are missing. Dec. 13, Antarctica: Twenty survive and 20 die when the South Korean FV No. 1 Insung (or Number One In Sung) sinks in frigid waters. The 42-person fishing trawler crew consisted of 11 Indonesians, 11 Vietnamese, 8 Koreans, 8 Chinese, 3 Filipinos, and 1 Russian. 2011 March 6, China: the U.K.

container ship Cosco Hong Kong collides with China's FV Zhe Ling Yu Yun 135 with the loss of all 11 crew. March 11, Pacific Rim: an undetermined number of vessels sink following a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami off the northeast coast of Japan. April 6, Italy: more than 250 Libyan migrants are missing after a boat carrying men, women, and children capsizes off the coast of Lampedusa. 2012 Jan. 13, Italy: the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia capsizes near the Tuscan coast. There are 4,200 passengers on board. At least 11 people are killed and dozens missing. The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, reportedly changed course to sail closer to shore to show off the luxury liner. In addition, he is accused of abandoning the ship after the crash. 2013 October 3, Mediterranean: at least 94 people are dead and another 250 are missing after a boat capsizes in the Mediterranean near the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. The boat, carrying African migrants to Europe, sinks after passengers light a blanket on fire to signal their position.

The fire spreads from the blanket to gasoline, creating a panic that sinks the boat. It is the worst boating accident of its kind in the region. 2014 April 16, South Korea: a ferry carrying 459 people, mostly students from Danwon High School, sinks off the southern coast of South Korea. When the ship begins sinking, the ship's captain, Lee Jun-seok, is not at the helm. Instead, the third mate is steering the ship. Lee is taken into custody. There are 304 confirmed deaths in the tragedy. 2015 April 19, Mediterranean: a ship carrying 850 migrants sinks off the coast of Libya. Many are trapped in the ship at the bottom of the sea. According to a statement made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the ship carried 850 people and only 28 are known to have survived. It is the deadliest incident in the Mediterranean involving refugees. June 1, China: a cruise ship, the Oriental Star, carrying 458 passengers capsizes in the Yangtze River, in central China. Strong winds and heavy rain are believed to have contributed to the accident. Few are expected to survive.

See also: Was the Lusitania sunk because its name wasn't painted out? | Daily Mail Online Was the Lusitania sunk because its name wasn't painted out? New image shows planned subterfuge wasn't carried out before liner was sunk by U-boat in 1915 killing 1,198 passengers and crew The RMS Lusitania passenger ship was torpedoed by Germany in 1915 It was travelling from New York to Liverpool on May 7 when tragedy struck With even less lifeboats than the Titanic 1,198 passengers and crew died New book suggests name was not painted out as it should have been The last photo taken of the ship shows the name was clearly visible Sinking of the Lusitania Sinking of the Lusitania Disasters & Tragedy Sinking of the Lusitania Illustration of the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. Picture from the National Defence, courtesy of the Canadian Navy. Updated January 01, 2016. What Was the Sinking of the Lusitania?

On May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania, which primarily ferried people and goods across the Atlantic Ocean between the United States and Great Britain, was torpedoed by a German U-boat and sunk. Of the 1,959 people on board, 1,198 died, including 128 Americans. The sinking of the Lusitania enraged Americans and hastened the United States' entrance into World War I . Dates: Sunk May 7, 1915 Also Known As: Sinking of the RMS Lusitania Be Careful! Since the outbreak of World War I, ocean voyage had become dangerous. Each side hoped to blockade the other, thus prevent any war materials getting through. German U-boats (submarines) stalked British waters, continually looking for enemy vessels to sink. Thus all ships headed to Great Britain were instructed to be on the lookout for U-boats and take precautionary measures such as travel at full speed and make zigzag movements. Unfortunately, on May 7, 1915, Captain William Thomas Turner slowed the Lusitania down because of fog and traveled in a predictable line.

continue reading below our video 4 Tips for Improving Test Performance Turner was the captain of the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner famous for its luxurious accommodations and speed capability. The Lusitania was primarily used to ferry people and goods across the Atlantic Ocean between the United States and Great Britain. On May 1, 1915, the Lusitania had left port in New York for Liverpool to make her 202nd trip across the Atlantic. On board were 1,959 people, 159 of whom were Americans. Spotted By a U-Boat Approximately 14 miles off the coast of Southern Ireland at Old Head of Kinsale, neither the captain nor any of his crew realized that the German U-boat, U-20, had already spotted and targeted them. At 1:40 p.m., the U-boat launched a torpedo. The torpedo hit the starboard (right) side of the Lusitania. Almost immediately, another explosion rocked the ship. At the time, the Allies thought the Germans had launched two or three torpedoes to sink the Lusitania.

However, the Germans say their U-boat only fired one torpedo. Many believe the second explosion was caused by the ignition of ammunition hidden in the cargo hold. Others say that coal dust, kicked up when the torpedo hit, exploded. No matter what the exact cause, it was the damage from the second explosion that made the ship sink. The Lusitania Sinks The Lusitania sunk within 18 minutes. Though there had been enough lifeboats for all passengers, the severe listing of the ship while it sunk prevented most from being launched properly. Of the 1,959 people on board, 1,198 died. The toll of civilians killed in this disaster shocked the world. Americans Are Angry Americans were outraged to learn 128 U.S. civilians were killed in a war in which they were officially neutral. Destroying ships not known to be carrying war materials countered generally accepted international war protocols. The sinking of the Lusitania heightened tensions between the U.S. and Germany and, coupled with the Zimmermann Telegram , helped sway American opinion in favor of joining the war.

The Shipwreck In 2008, divers explored the wreck of the Lusitania, situated eight miles off the coast of Ireland. On board, the divers found approximately four million U.S.-made Remington .303 bullets. The discovery supports the German's long-held belief that the Lusitania was being used to transport war materials. The find also supports the theory that it was the explosion of munitions on board that caused the second explosion on the Lusitania. This day in History: 1915 Lusitania sinks – Maiden on the Midway by Anna This day in History: 1915 Lusitania sinks On the afternoon of May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland. Within 20 minutes, the vessel sank into the Celtic Sea. Of 1,959 passengers and crew, 1,198 people were drowned, including 128 Americans.

The attack aroused considerable indignation in the United States, but Germany defended the action, noting that it had issued warnings of its intent to attack all ships, neutral or otherwise, that entered the war zone around Britain. When World War I erupted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson pledged neutrality for the United States, a position that the vast majority of Americans favored. Britain, however, was one of America’s closest trading partners, and tension soon arose between the United States and Germany over the latter’s attempted quarantine of the British isles. Several U.S. ships traveling to Britain were damaged or sunk by German mines, and in February 1915 Germany announced unrestricted submarine warfare in the waters around Britain. Frontpage news, 1915 In early May 1915, several New York newspapers published a warning by the German embassy in Washington that Americans traveling on British or Allied ships in war zones did so at their own risk. The announcement was placed on the same page as an advertisement of the imminent sailing of the Lusitania liner from New York back to Liverpool.

The sinkings of merchant ships off the south coast of Ireland prompted the British Admiralty to warn the Lusitania to avoid the area or take simple evasive action, such as zigzagging to confuse U-boats plotting the vessel’s course. The captain of the Lusitania ignored these recommendations, and at 2:12 p.m. on May 7 the 32,000-ton ship was hit by an exploding torpedo on its starboard side. The torpedo blast was followed by a larger explosion, probably of the ship’s boilers, and the ship sunk in 20 minutes. It was revealed that the Lusitania was carrying about 173 tons of war munitions for Britain, which the Germans cited as further justification for the attack. The United States eventually sent three notes to Berlin protesting the action, and Germany apologized and pledged to end unrestricted submarine warfare. In November, however, a U-boat sunk an Italian liner without warning, killing 272 people, including 27 Americans. Public opinion in the United States began to turn irrevocably against Germany.

On January 31, 1917, Germany, determined to win its war of attrition against the Allies, announced that it would resume unrestricted warfare in war-zone waters. Three days later, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Germany, and just hours after that the American liner Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat. On February 22, Congress passed a $250 million arms appropriations bill intended to make the United States ready for war. In late March, Germany sunk four more U.S. merchant ships, and on April 2 President Wilson appeared before Congress and called for a declaration of war against Germany. On April 4, the Senate voted to declare war against Germany, and two days later the House of Representatives endorsed the declaration. With that, America entered World War I.

Question: What was the name of the British ocean liner sunk by a German U-boat in 1915, killing over 1100 people?
Answer: LUSITANIA